Garment form



Jan. 23, 1940. ,5. D. BRowNE 2,187,965

a GARMET FORM Filed July ze, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 2 V v v v v V L Patented Jan. 23, `194() l UNITED sfrarss GARMENT FORM. rEldytlxe Drage Bi-owne,"Chicago, Ill.' Apexieatienjuly ,28, 193s, serial No. 221,761

' 1 15v claims, `(o1. :22a-68) My invention relates, generally toformsY iorfitting dresses and other garments, and has particular relation to a laminated garment. form' oi' coherent structure which is formed upon the 51 "tbody of the person Whose `figure isto beL reproduced, Ain a manner to provide an accurate'reproduction of the individual anatomicalstruc-- ture of the figure, and which will retain itsshape upon removal from the gure so that it maybe ltlused as a form upon which dresses or other garments may bev fitted, rthereby eliminating the necessity of tting the garments' directly upon the person. W f

My invention consists in iirst applying a founlldation garment to the body vand particularly to the torso of the person, and -then' applying and molding shaped adhesive sections lto the foun-v cation garment accurately to define the distinctive iigure conformation. The accurate formv go thus provided is then cut and removed from the ngure and Will retain its shape upon removal.

VThe foundation garment and shaped adhesive sections constitute the main pieces for'producing the'form of my invention, and these pieces 25; are preferably made up indifferent sizes, making it possible, for example,` fora'womariwith a size 36 gureby purchasing form pieces or that size, to obtain general conformity to her figure.-v In actual practice, I contemplate v4making the form 3 `piecesin diierent standard sizes, such as large, medium, and small. Then as' the'form pieces are applied, they are hand-*molded or shaped to dene accurately the distinctive'gure' con# formation. l

u The shaped character and size of theV adhesive obtained by reason of` the shaped characterof the adhesive sections,

Another feature of my invention consists. the provision of reenforcing or stiiiening pieces which coact with the shaped adhesive l sections to give the form` the desired degree of stiffness and rigidity whereby it'will Vacourately,ma its shape after removalandwill not be dis in tting garments thereon.

Further features and advant'agesofniy invention will be apparent from the following detailed4 description, taken in connection vwith the .ac-- eoni`panying drawings in which:`

Figure l is an 4elevational view ,of vtlelfolulrdation garment afin-y improved forni.;Y

u'Fig-ure Sis-a: back View; of'the figure Of'af.

, er remtval from thev body 'of the person-Whose stiiiening-or reenforcing piece shown inFigure 12. 2051 center section I4, two backside sections',one offA M j .yoke section l'Lffront yoke sectionlybut sec* Figure 2 illustrates collectively some of the shaped adhesivesections of one embodiment of my invention;- i

vFigure r3 illustrates collectively other shaped` adhesive sections; e f' 5ta;

Figures 4, 5, 6', 7 and S'illustrate further shaped adhesive sections -for use .with the sections shownin Figures 2- and 3 i woman, showing the manner 'of applying the fmt. form;

"Figure l() is a front view of the igure -offa- Woman `showing the form applied thereto; Figure llis aperspeotive View of the formait figure -s reproduced-by the form; -v i. Figure l2'V isa fragmentary front View loffene of the stiiening or reenforcing pieces;r andi-f l f Figure 1S. is alfragmentary side View or? the in carrying out" my invention, I ern-ploy:-a,v foundation garment IB to serve as a base'f-and" erably papeigto give a certain degree of stiiness and rigidity tothe form,'wh'ereby it will maintainl 25 its shape upon removal 'from the body of the person. The foundation garment Ill is preferably formed of lknitted material, although'it may,- Within -tl'ie scopek of the present invention, be-3Q.; formed ofv any other suitable textile material, or kof paper. This garment Ivhas faHstandi-ng collar. l-l, and isv made up ,for @c listributi'on` in different sizes along with a set of shapedadhesive sections of corresponding size. S-'-1 vvCommon brown kraft paper, gummedlon one sida-is one suitable material of which the shapedl sections may be formed. The particular foundationgarment and shaped sectionsshowny in the drawings are for making a dress-formi. In the 40:; illustratedembodiment of 'the' invention, the shapedfsections for this `particular forrncomprise a.v front' center section 12, .twdfront, sidesections, jone of which visshown at '|3, va back which Ais-shovvn. at i5, a collar section` lgback tions |49- and 20, two belt sections, one of-Which is shown lat2l, a back skirt section 2 2, front skirt section ,23, twosideskirt sections, one `of Which-5@I is shown at 24, andl two underarm sections,one of which is shown'at 25.v f e .It is to be understood that 4the' particular num-` ber and shapesr of the sections shown in. the.` drawingsare illustrative and not limiting, `,Any 55-K 2 other desired number of such sections may be employed, and the particular shapes of said sections may vary. The particular sections illustrated are of the general character of the sectionalized paper garment patterns for use in shaping garments, as well understood in the art, except that instead of being used flat to enable cutting` the sections of the garment to the desired shape and size, they are gummed or provided with adhesive. andapplied to the foundation garment whilethe same is in place on the body of the person whose figure is to be reproduced, and, with the foundation garment. constitute the essentials of a fitting form which is an accurate reproduction of the figure and retains the shape given it for use in fitting garments thereon.

In making up the form, the foundation garment is first placed upon the body of the person whose figure is to be reproduced and pulled down to smooth out any Wrinkles. From underneath, it is `firmly pinned to the garters. Reenforcing or stifening strips 30 are then attached to the garment I0. The strips 30 are in the form of relatively narrow strips of metal or other suitable material, having prongs or other suitable attachment elements 32 struck out therefrom. The attachment elements 32 are flattened and engaged downwardly with the foundation garment I so as to catch slightly into the material of this garment and attach the stiffening strips in place.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, I employ six reenforcing or stiening strips 30, one extending up to the underarm at each side, and two at the front, and two at the back. This particular number of stiffening` strips, as shown in the drawings, is illustrative and not limiting,

it being understood that any other desired number and arrangement of these strips 30 may be employed within the scope of the present invention.

After the strips 30 are fastened in place, the shaped adhesive sections are applied to the foundation garment Ill over'this garment andover the strips 30 while the foundation garment is in place on the body of the person. This is accom- Y plished by moistening the entire gummed or adhesve surfaces of the respective shaped sections--for example, with a Wet sponge-, and applying the moistened gummed surfaces to the foundation with the shaped sections intheir appropriate positions. The adhesive sections preferably overlap, completely to cover the foundation garment and to provide the desired stiffness and rigidity. The particular order in which the .the underbust and underarm sections are then.

similarly applied. A piece of string or the like may be applied around the waist and tied in place, whereupon the `skirt sections and belt pieces are applied. In applying the shaped sections, they are hand molded or shaped with the the figure of the person on whom the model is. formed. The shaped character of the adhesive sections makes it possible to apply the same accurately and expeditiously and with a minimum of help, and without requiring the person to stand in fitting position for an unduly long period of time. Moreover, the shaped character of these sections cooperates with the other features to provide a perfect fitting form.

As the moistened adhesive surfaces of the shaped sections dry after their application to the foundation garment, the form stiffens and becomes an accurate reproduction of the figure of the person, which retains its'shape upon removal from the figure so that it may be used as a form upon which dresses or other garments may be fitted.

After the material is shaped to form and dried and set as above described, the form is cut or slit, preferably upthe back, as indicated by the dot and dash line vll'lin Figure 9, and up the center of the front, as indicated by the dot and dash line 4| in Figure 10, and removed from the person. An old` corset steel or other piece of flexible metal may be slipped between the form and undergarments to facilitate cutting, which may be done with a scissors. Upon removing the two sections of the form, these sections are placed with the edges together and are joined and the slits closed by gummed paper or other adhesive strips as indicated, for example, at 42. Thefform may then be placed on a coat hanger or other-suitable support, and serves as a fitting form upon which a dress or other garment may be accurately fitted to the exact gure conformation of the person on whom the form was made.V lIf desired, the strips which join the two sections of the form may be joined at one end or along one side to vthe form before slitting and removing the vsame from the figure, and then when, the two Vsections are placed with their edges together, the other ends or other sides of the adhesive strips may be moistened and joined to the other form section. The pasters or adhesive pieces are permitted to dry .and other pasters, such, for example, as vertical adhesive measurements of the person to whom the form is l applied before making the application, and after the form is completed, the measurements of the form may be taken and compared with the firstmentioned measurements.

The present form is inexpensive, relatively simple, light weight, and easily portable, and it provides' a true and reliable lay gure over which garments may besatisfactorily fitted.

I do not intend to be limited to the precise details shown or described, and it is to be understood thatthe garment form of my invention may be used for fitting mens, womens, and childrens garments, or for fitting surgical appliances, vor elsewhere as desired.

i I claim:

1*., A garment form comprising, a foundation garment generally of a shape and size to fit the torso of a person and adapted to be placed thereon, and a plurality of adhesive sections formed to a pattern` generally corresponding with the size of the person, leach section being of different shape and conforming generally in contour with a correspondingly shaped portion only of the body of the person, said sections being adapted to be applied to said foundation garment while W:

same is in place upon the person, said shaped adhesive sections adapted to be hand-molded to define accurately the distinctive figure conformation of the torso and of a character to impart stiffness and rigidity tothe form whereby it Will retain its shape for fitting garments thereon when removed from the person. y

2. A garment form comprising, a foundation garment generally of a shape and size to t the torso of a person and adapted to be placed thereon, stiffening means adapted for attachment to the outer surface of said foundation garment.

Vand a plurality of shaped adhesive sections formed to a pattern generally corresponding with the size of the person, said sections comprising individual back, front and side sections conforming generally in contour with correspondng portions only ofthe body of the personl and of a size to substantially entirely cover such portions, said sections being adapted to be applied as a covering over the outer surface of said foundation garment and in covering relation over said stiifening means While the foundation garment is in place on the person, said shaped adhesive sections adapted to be hand-molded to define accurately the distinctive figure conformation of the torso and of a character to impart, in conjunction with said stiffening means, stiffness and rigidity to the form whereby it Will retain its shape for fitting garments thereon when removed from the person.

3. A garment form comprising, a textile foun- `dation garment generally of ya shape and size to fit the torso ofa person and adapted :to be placed thereon, said foundation garment having an upstanding collar, a plurality of upright stiffening stays having prongs for attachment of said stays to the outer surface of the foundation garment in generally upright position, and a plurality of adhesive paper sections, each section being of different shape and conforming incontour with a correspondingly shaped portion only of the body of the perso-n, the sections collectively having the general shape of the person, said sections being adapted to be applied as a covering over the outer surface of said foundation garment/fand in covering relation over said sti'ening stays while the foundation garment is in place on the perso-n, said shaped adhesive paper sections adapted to be hand-molded to define accurately the distinctive figure conformation of the torso and of a character to impart in conjunction Withsaid stilfening stays stiifness and rigidity` to the form whereby it'lwill retain its shape for fitting garments thereon when removed from the person.

4. A method of forming a garment form, whichv consistsv in first cutting a plurality of adhesive sections to different shapes, each section generally conforming in contour With a correspondingly shaped portion only of the torso of the body of a person, covering the torso ofthe body of a person with avfoundation garment, applying to said foundation garment While same is on the person the plurality of shaped adhesive sections, said sections being of a character to impart stiffness and rigidity to the form, cutting the form from top to bottom and removing it from the person and connecting the edges ofthe form .along the cut to form anintegral form for fitting garments thereon.

5. A' method of forming a garment form, which consists in first cutting a plurality of adhesive sections to diierent shapes,` each section con- V forming generally in contour with a correspondingly shaped portion only of the torso of the body of a person, coveringthe torso. of the body of a person With a foundation garment, attaching' a plurality of upright stiffening stays to the outer surface of said foundation garment in generally upright position, applying to said foundation garment and over said stiifening stays While the foundation garment is on the person the plurality vof shaped adhesive sections, said seccut to form an integral form for tting garments f thereon.

- EDYTHE DRAGE BROWNE. 

